


How To Be A True Hero 101

by B1939



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-11
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-02-08 08:56:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1934712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B1939/pseuds/B1939
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Batman finally needs to look into this Arrow, Starling City is in imminent danger. Just perfect... </p><p>Batman is the oldest hero in here, so AU it is. Also, I refuse to write Damian's death so, he's alive and kicking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Clash

**Author's Note:**

> AN: couldn’t resist the temptation. AU, in this world Superman may or may not show up later, but the first and oldest hero will be Batman (Oliver is younger than Bruce and older than Dick, but Dick became Nightwing before he became Arrow). And please, I encourage review.
> 
> Disclaimer: Do not own anything (it will be the only time I state this in case anyone doesn't already knew) Oh, obviously I have my own agenda for them, and since it is based off the last episode of season two, there will be spoilers.

"Oracle to Batman, the **League** is making a move. Motive unknown, leader Nyssa Al Ghul, destination… Starling City."

"Urgent?"

"Very… You know what Batman, it's more urgent than I expected two hours ago. They might be involved with a new mercenary turned rogue, identity's Slade Wilson, code name: Deathstroke. He has some kind of body enhancer called Mirakuru that made him into super-soldiers, turns out, he made a batch of them."

Batman didn't reply, his thought lingered on the word, Mirakuru. It was the Japanese for miracle. Presumably something similar to Bane's Venom. And Oracle continued, "And that's not the worst. As I linked Deathstroke to this, I also found out, somehow the not-so-hero-Arrow had a connection to the team Amanda Waller led, and while I hacked it… Well, bad news. In short, Waller's gonna blow the city."

Batman wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose. He had heard the miraculous return of Oliver Queen and the appearance of the Hood and now so called "Arrow". It wasn't hard to piece it together that Oliver was really the Hood and the Arrow. Previously, he ignored him because he's just a vigilante, out for blood. Plus he didn't operate in Gotham. After the earthquake, he'd gone to Starling a few times to donate, but still didn't want anything to do with the Hood.

Now that there are clear indication that the Arrow is connected with Waller and the League, and he stopped killing. Batman wanted to sigh badly, he knew in his heart that this Arrow problem will be his. Clearly, now was the "perfect" timing to get involved… But, he had to get involved, for the sake of Starling City, and the city right beside it, Bludhaven.

"Keep in touch, will be in Starling City in twenty minutes. Call Batgirl to cover."

As he signed out from the communication link, he fetched the newest Robin, Damian, his son. Thankfully, there really hasn't been any bad things lately. Hopefully, it will get better. But, he knew, inevitably, later, whenever it is, there will be a break out at Arkham Asylum and he'll have to get busy again. Sometime, he wondered why he still lock them up in there…

…

Twenty minutes later, he and Robin arrived at the coordinates that Oracle later gave them as the base of Arrow's operation. As he drove his Batplane, he could see that the city is like hell right now. Somewhat reminded him of multiple occasions back in Gotham. He reassessed his decision to get involved with Arrow and regretted not getting involved earlier. This Arrow, clearly could've used some training, both in restraining and in control.

His son was visibly quiet tonight, it was expected. He was always quieter when he knew he's going to see "family".

Nyssa was his aunt, and a competitor with Talia. Over the years, they've argued on a lot of things, including who is the heir to their father's throne. In the end, Nyssa won. Because Damion chose him over Talia. It was… in a way, comforting for him to know that his son chose him, the dark yet slightly less violent and slightly lighter road. Not that it was any better though, if anything, it was harder.

For that, he was proud.

He soon found their little meeting room, with Nyssa and other girl going in. As he and Robin hide in the shadow, he saw Arrow. Younger than him, but older when he became Batman. He was truly getting better at controlling his anger. When he first saw the work of the Hood, he knew the Hood was angry. It reminded him of Jason, which was another reason he was not willing to meet the Hood. Plus, it was when Joker escaped… Again… Like he said, he really wondered sometime why he keep putting criminals in Arkham…

He heard their plan and decided he had his own plan. For example, preventing any of those League members from killing and anyone from dying in general. Another example, he really need to talk to Arrow after this, on his recruitment process. The boy seemed… scared. Nothing like his Robins. He can almost hear Damian's typical "tt", but for now, other people takes priority.

Thoughts crossed his mind, he followed them, carefully not to be seen, though they were already quite distraught to realize anyway. He stayed close to Damian, reminding him not to make any rash decisions. Damian was getting better at not jumping out at his will.

Finally, they captured some woman, he didn't intervene, and he still needed more time to observe the Arrow. The situation posed no threat to the Arrow nor to the League. As he imagined, Nyssa executed, but prevented by his batarang.

Nyssa soon realized that it was him that followed, her voice grew more fascinated while others were on high alert since his presence was not sensed.

"Detective. I should've known you'd show up. Now, why don't you show up. Did you bring my little nephew too? I've missed him, so did his mother."

Everyone except him and Damian was lost. Including the other girl that stood beside her, Sara, was her name.

He appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, but in reality, from the shadow of the roof. As soon as he jumped down, Robin followed, along with his typical "tt" and the sentence, "you were never my aunt, cheap replacement of my mother."

Nyssa's face showed tiny spark of anger, which was enough for everyone to catch. Arrow's arrow was pointing to him. And she spoke again, "you don't have to point that to him, it won't have any effect. He… He was the best of all. Isn't it? My brother in law."

He ignored every word of it, but couldn't help but remember Talia's face. Just for a moment, then he was back to reality, "You weren't close enough. What do you plan to do?"

Arrow didn't lower his arrow, "who are you."

Nyssa's voice was echoing in this room again, "Oh, he is the greatest detective in the world. My sister's beloved, once, also my father's chosen heir. The famous Batman, the Br…"

She never got to finish her sentence, her face was almost carved by her nephew as she blocked the attack from Robin. She only raised an eyebrow at him, "you've gone weak, my little nephew. Has he turned you into weaklings?"

"Shut up, harlot."

"Robin."

Batman's voice was dark and demanding, it made Arrow feel even more alert. Just from that voice he could feel how dangerous the man is. He never really knew Batman. No one has ever mentioned that name before. Yet… League of Assassins knew about him, and apparently also married a daughter to him?

It was confusing to say the least. And what is up with kids in the field?

"Arrow, what do you plan to do?"

Batman's voice was getting inpatient, and it was even more nerve racking to hear that threatening voice.

Arrow still pointed at him, "WHO ARE YOU! Tell me now or I'll shoot."

"Tt, look again, you shall not talk to him like that!"

Robin was engaging the fight again. Even though its purpose was to protect him, Batman still growled, "Enough! Both of you. And **Arrow** , do you want to save the **city** or interrogate **me**?" Batman was almost out of patience, if Oliver Queen doesn't choose wisely, he'll have to send in his people to handle the situation. And honestly, his people, will not hesitate to hand Arrow over to the police along the way since he had killed and the original M.O. looked too much like revenge.

Like he said before, Arrow reminded him of Jason.

"I sure as hell don't trust you."

"Tt, like we trust you." Robin's head slightly tilted up to show his arrogance, he was right though, Batman would've never approved if Arrow was just a revenge seeker with anger issues that kills.

"I am Batman. From Gotham. All you need to know right now is that we come here to help. WE don't kill." As he said the last sentence, he turned to Nyssa, "And same goes for you. If I see you kill anyone. I'll break you."

"I'm sure sister gets this a lot doesn't she."

"I am no longer in contact with her."

"Shame, you've always had her interest."

"And grandfather's." As contempt as he could be Robin ended the conversation by stabbing Nyssa's weak spot. She was only the second in line, not even second technically.

"But I am the heir now, and that's what it matters." Nyssa try not to sound too bitter, in reality, she was jealous of Talia and Damian, even Batman.

"No, the legacies are mine and mine alone." Damian's voice was darker than normal, he even made Arrow feel a chill from the spine.

"I said, enough." Batman finally broke their conversation, impatiently, he went in front of Arrow, grabbed his collar, "I'll give you last chance before I take control over this city, do you have a plan."

Arrow struggled, but couldn't free himself from the Batman. He looked into those white glass shaped "eyes" and could only see darkness. It was even more terrifying than Slade's or anything else really. He tried to put on a poker face, but the stoic impression of the Batman was too good. He had no choice but to reply what he was asking. Finally, he nodded. A symbol of recognizing Batman's authority. Batman then quickly released him, gave him room to move, "then get on it. I'll be watching you."


	2. The Dark Knight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have bashed Arrow tiny tiny bit... It was unintentional. Well... Sort of.  
> It's comic Batman vs TV series Arrow, so of course comic Batman's gonna win! I strongly believe that! Lol, hope you enjoy it~

As soon as the Bat and the Robin seemingly disappeared, a police along with Oliver Queen’s EA appeared. Of course the League of Assassins were mostly gone already, to clean up the place.

Even though it was almost like a test to Oliver Queen as Arrow, and it seems that Batman was doing nothing, but the fact is, he forced Waller to back off from the nuc she was sending this way. They knew that when he’s around, there WILL NOT BE any killings. He had leverage on Waller and was not afraid to use it.

Then again, Waller had leverage on him, too. But over the years, they had a mutual understanding which led to something similar to trust. Similar, not exactly the same.

He also stole one of the remedies or the cure of Mirukuru as they referred it while they were distracted. So he was sure that when time comes, if they fail, he could intervene.

As he watched them move, it was clear that Arrow was using this girl named Felicity as bait. He was not happy to say the least. Felicity had no training, had no power. She was just a normal person. As Oracle kept updating, it was clear that Felicity was the I.T. of their operation, which made him even angrier. She literally cannot defend herself, yet she was the bait Oliver had chosen.

They are going to have a talk about it.

Along with other things Arrow had done wrong.

He had followed Felicity. He wasn’t too fond of the idea to send Damian to face the big gun, and probably don’t know when he should show up and how. But he did make Damian stay with Arrow and the group. If they are in imminent danger, he should help. He let Damian decide when he wanted to show himself, but he warned Damian that he doesn’t want to see any body lying on the ground without peaths.

Damian reluctantly agreed.

He also had camera’s placed on Damian so he could observe the fight without being there. And that fight was not a good one. On multiple occasions, Damian had to lend a hand or two to help them, prevent them from dying. They are too… distracted, and too unorganized. They are not a team, never trained to be a team. Maybe the League was the exception. Ironically, they were the ones that definitely trained to work in a team.

Evaluating the situation, he decided that if Arrow really wanted to keep going, he needed to learn both working alone and working with teams and working with people he didn’t trust. As did he.

As the battle almost ended, he found Slade calling Arrow, to make him come to this warehouse. He was slightly happier since it meant the fight would end soon. He was getting worried about Gotham. Just one night out of Gotham, he already was thinking the worst case scenario, which involved Joker’s escape and etc.

At few instances, he almost wanted to jump out. But he waited. Patience was not something he’s lacking. He then saw Felicity finished her job, the other Sara girl used a gun, but was not lethal. Arrow and Slade took the fight elsewhere. He followed along with Robin.

Both of them at this point was quite disappointed. Batman was disappointed at Arrow’s ability to handle himself and a team, Damian simply was disappointed at Arrow’s fighting skills. Don’t think that Arrow was weak. He’s just less skilled than Batman, and maybe even loose to Damian in a combat and will definitely be killed by Damian.

It wasn’t a surprise after they handed Slade to Waller, and sent Sara, Diggle, Lyla, and Felicity away, Arrow shouted for Batman to show up. He had Felicity checking Batman’s information and feeding it through the headphones, unfortunately, there weren’t a lot of information.

First of all, Gotham is self-contained city, people coming out of there never talked about the life within; and no one wanted to go into Gotham.

Second of all, Batman kept a secret well. No photos, no videos, just glimpse of black cape. There were more information on his colorful side-kick than his. Though, most people still believed that Batman and Robin were just myths, urban legends. Apparently, he’s real.

What he doesn’t know was his “checks” ran by Felicity were what Oracle wanted them to see. There were more information if they went to Gotham.

By this time, everyone in Gotham knew about Batman, although none of them would say anything. It’s like, Gothamites had their own little secrets, they were proud of it alright, but they were never that selfless to share.

Maybe, when the words came out, he’ll leave too.

No one wanted to see Batman leave.

Fortunately, Felicity did manage to theorize that there were more than one Robins since the first Robin should be a grown man now. Though… there really were no traces. They were good at keeping secrets.

As Batman and Robin stood in front of Arrow, they were silent.

Batman knew what Arrow knew, and some more.

Finally, with the voice that terrorized Gotham’s criminals, Batman spoke, “You are Oliver Queen. You’ve survived and came back. First was revenge, then your M.O. changed. Something changed in your life. Presumably you’ve lost someone. Considering your personal life, it was Tommy Merlyn.”

Oliver had Felicity, Batman had Oracle.

Oliver’s arrow pointed at Batman again, but his eyes showed signs of fear. Maybe not particularly fear for his own exposure, his friends and family’s safety was more appropriate. For that, Batman’s facial expression softened. Though, probably Oliver couldn’t tell.

“You need more training. Your team needs more training, your partner especially needs training. Your whole team is ineffective and you need to stop using civilian life as bait.”

In summary, Arrow in Batman’s eyes failed, big time.

Damian’s face smirked. It’s always good to see his father bashing others, terrorizing others, especially now that Nyssa is gone.

His smirk was not unnoticed by Arrow which made him a target of an arrow. Damian huffed, and look to Batman, asking permission. Batman nodded slightly and said, “Restraint, Robin.”

“Tt.”

He charged forward, within one second, he was in front of Arrow and took his arrow away, poke it.

Batman knew Damian and Oliver were not evenly matched, especially when Damian recent trained with him and fought alongside with him. They were used to fighting guys bigger than them, Arrow was clearly not, from the experience of fighting Slade.

When engaged in fighting, Oliver realized just how strong Robin was. He looked like a kid, but his skills certainly outshines his age. At the beginning, he was hesitant to use any arrows on the kid, but now, one by one, he was out of arrow. The kid was acrobatic. His reflex was stunningly good as if he was trained his whole life. He started with hand to hand combat, using his superior strength against the kid. But… the kid was slippery.

If anything, Damian was in training with the best hand to hand combatant on Earth, Batman.

He deflected most of Arrow’s blow, but inevitably, he was not very patient in waiting for the right moments. He made a mistake, rushed, and he paid his price. Nose and mouth started to taste like iron. He simply spitted the blood out, and smirked even more.

“Now, my turn.”

Damian made a jump using Oliver’s knee as pressure point, then flipped up, turning a full 360 degrees, while turning, he grabbed all the arrows from Oliver, one by one torn it apart, used the tip as dagger and Oliver as target. Oliver soon had few cuts, but he wasn’t going to just give up. He caught Damian’s hand and twisted. Damian obviously was not going to just let it happen, his body twisted with the hand and manage to hold on to Oliver’s neck using his feet, then with the twisting motion, he made Oliver fall.

He secured Oliver’s hand with the cuff he was given by his father, the less lethal tool.

Batman’s mouth twitched tiny bit up, just enough for Damian to see, and feel proud that his father was satisfied with what he had done.

As Damian walked towards Batman, Oliver was up again, his hands clutched together forming a fist, then swung like a baseball bat. It was caught by Batman single handedly.

It was then, Oliver realized that he had no chance of winning.

He stopped, almost desperate, trying not to show on his face, “what do you want?”

Batman dropped Oliver’s hands, “to show you how wrong you’ve been. This is my partner, Robin, he is only eleven years old and he can fight better than you do. You need to be trained.”

“I don’t need any training, not from you.” Oliver growled, but he was nowhere near as scary as the big bad bat in Damian’s eyes.

“Tt, you should be honored that fa… Batman offered.”

Damian’s voice made Oliver even more irritated, “I don’t know you, I don’t trust you. You’re merely a vigilante.”

“And you’re not? You’re going to get yourself killed. More importantly, you’ll get your team killed.”

Batman suddenly had flashbacks from when he held Jason’s body. The sorrow flooded him. He could never forget, the pain of losing someone close. If he’d just trained him better, if he had more time… Maybe… just maybe… he wouldn’t become Red Hood… He always blamed himself for what happened to Jason.

“You don’t have to take it right away. Gotham is close enough. When you do, you’ll come to Gotham, and I’ll know.” Batman paused, then continued with the most terrifying voice he could come up with, “Do NOT put your team in danger.”

After that, Batman and Robin left, without a trace. A tiny “cling” sound woke Oliver from the lingering question of why did Batman care, his handcuff dropped onto ground. He didn’t even notice when it was unlocked… They are REALLY good…

Felicity’s voice came through headphone again, “Hey, Oliver, oh shit… Arrow, Arrow, you’ve in costume, it is Arrow, sorry…”

“Felicity?”

“Sorry… sorry… I just found more information on this Batman. It was said, he appeared out of nowhere, and started his crusade in Gotham. Come to think of it, a few years back when you weren’t around, Gotham did have a huge Earthquake and it was declared no man’s land, not U.S. soil. Do you think it was his enemy that did it? Oh, right, he was often referred as the Dark Knight. His M.O. was dark, but, honestly, I haven’t found any body count that was directly related to his action. He’s good, and he’s strong. Maybe you should consider his offer. Maybe you can learn more about… you know… I’m gonna shut up now.”

Oliver’s eyes narrowed as Felicity stopped speaking.

The Dark Knight, eh?


	3. Analysis

“Father, is that weakling going to be the first ‘Batman’ in your plan?”

They were on the Batplane when Damian asked Bruce this question, Bruce replied, “It depends.”

He stopped correcting Damian’s language as long as it’s… more or less appropriate for his age.  
“But father, he’s weak, and what if he doesn’t want to train with us? What if he’s not fit to be a hero for his city? He barely protected the city now.”

The contempt on Damian’s face clearly indicated that he didn’t like Arrow, not one bit. Bruce did realize probably most of the hatred had something to do with Nyssa showing up.

“If he doesn’t, we’ll find someone. Barbara will keep tabs, Dick will help him when time comes. They are closer.”

After their return, Bruce did everything to dig Arrow’s information. From before his disappearance to the recent disaster of the city. It was informative to say the least. A.R.G.U.S., the team that Waller led, turned out to be more than he expected. The island of “Lian Yu” was… interesting. Mirukuru’s research had some results as well. Especially when the lead scientist was Professor Ivo. Also, the earthquake. Gotham’s earthquake was due to natural disaster, but theirs was not.

Merlyn apparently was behind all this, along with the people that Arrow first killed. Moira was more than meets the eyes. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on the point of view, she was dead because of Slade.

There were limited information when Oliver Queen was on the island, but from what he had gathered, he had some basic ideas.

And then, the question did rise up again. Should Arrow be the first in his plan?

He had the vision long ago, when he was fighting the scums of Gotham, he wanted not only to change Gotham, but the world. Yet his full attention was required in Gotham. He left Gotham for a while to see the world and try to come up with a plan. When he returned, the idea grew into theory.

What if every city, at least every country had something like “Batman”? The world was not in the best condition, yet no one was doing anything. On his trip, he found some people that may be of help. They had the hearts, but no means.

The name came easy, Batman Incorporated. The Batman would truly be just a symbol. 

Everyone could be Batman.

On the other hand, how to make that happen, he was still… not so sure. Everyone needed training. And everyone needed what he had, tools, gadgets. Those are expensive. He had to try to increase his income in Wayne Enterprises, which was why he started a joint venture with Luthor Corp. He wasn’t fond of their means of getting profit. Though… He’ll have to deal with it later. He had to work with what he had.

It was not easy. He almost condemned himself at first, since Luthor’s biggest income was from weapon development. But… if anyone had the most advanced technology, he’d rather he had it, or at least knew about it.

Taking a closer look at Luthor Corp, there were more to it. Of course there were… Like his company, Luthor had hidden something away. It was expected, but he still felt heavy. To make the world a better place, he must start somewhere. He’d have to slowly take control of Luthor Corp. It looked simple enough, especially when Lionel Luthor’s son, Alexander Luthor was not a big fan of the company anyway.

He had his sons to help. They didn’t always agree with his decisions, or means to make the world better. But on Batman Incorporated, they were on the same page. Though, Dick did mention that to let everyone name themselves “Batman” was a bit egocentric. He didn’t care.  
Over the years, he found his way worked. Criminals were scared of him. The more people saw him in action, the more they were scared to make bad decisions.

Incidentally, when he was doing research on Arrow and his team, Roy Harper popped up. The kid had more potential and… to be honest, he thought Roy was better than Oliver to protect the city.

The kid was naïve, in a good way. If Roy had more training, he’d be better at getting himself out of trouble. Since he always was in trouble, it was probably a good idea.

He was also injected with Mirukuru, though he was also injected with the “cure”, data was still insufficient to conclude anything. As well, now that he did more digging, he saw Roy more like… Jason. And a good version of Jason.

Jason changed because he took Jason in, tried to teach him. He failed.

Roy changed because he was saved, and wanted to do something to help. It was voluntary, which was a more effective motive. In comparison, Arrow also had a change of heart, but was due to the fact that he failed. Effective? Maybe. But definitely did not look good on record.  
To add on to the situation, Oliver Queen had the most complicated relationships… Maybe even surpassing his love life. At least he didn’t date sisters at the same time… 

It was almost humorous to see Oliver’s love life… Yet… That posed another problem. Oliver was too emotional. Not that he wasn’t, but he knew how to control it. He had been since he was eight… Oliver on the other hand seemed to lack that restraint. He loved to lash out on people, consumed by his emotions, and made judgments because of his emotions. That was a hard problem to solve. Maybe meditation would help? Would he even be calm enough for a meditation? It needed to be tested.

Bruce sat in the chair in front of his big bat computer screen, brooding, analyzing, theorizing the best way to train Oliver Queen when suddenly, he got a call from Nightwing, his first son, Dick Grayson Wayne.

“Hey Bruce.”

“Any problems?”

“No, I just got information that you were in Starling City! Why didn’t you call me? I could’ve helped! Bludhaven is closer to Starling than Gotham.”

“It was unnecessary. We got it covered.”

“By what? Threatening Waller? Your ego was that much more important than the lives of the citizens?”

“None of them died.”

“I beg to differ, the police officer died and a lot were injured.”

Bruce quickly started his search, and found that Laurel and Sara Lance’s father was dead, because of internal bleeding. He frowned, and did blame himself. He lost his words, couldn’t find anything to say to calm Dick down.

“You should’ve called.”

He did the only thing knew how to, changing the subject, “What do you think of Arrow since you are so close to him.”

Dick hesitated, then sighed, “Fine, just remember to call, don’t let me think you don’t trust me. Although I kind of figured you don’t trust anybody. But…” The unspoken words were: we are family. Unfortunately, Bat-Family had the tendency to not talk about feelings.

“Anyway, Arrow. Almost one and half years ago, I heard the story of vigilante killing. I investigated, but then there were… well, people in Bludhaven I had to deal with. And he seemed to be like Jason… Also, the police was on his side, too. So I figured they were fine. Then, the Earthquake happened. I did find out that the earthquake was manmade, but before I could talk with him, Arrow disappeared for a while. When he returned, he stopped dropping bodies. So I though he turned around. Oh, yeah, and he’s Oliver Queen. With you and your billionaire mask, it was too easy to figure out.”

Dick’s slight chuckle made Bruce’s heart soften.

They never had a perfect relationship, it was always work in progress. Especially after Dick turned eighteen and left Gotham. But… No one should ever doubt his love for his family. And make no mistake, Dick is family.

“I thought he got the city covered, until today that is. Who knew he had connections to ARGUS and League of Assassins. Speaking of which… How’s Damian holding up?”

“He’s fine. Learning.” Bruce’s tension eased even more, he relaxed back to his chair, corner of his mouth almost turned into a smile, almost.

“Dick, when you have time, meet with Arrow, show him what it means to be the protector. Also, if you could, his friend, Roy Harper would be a good candidate to train as well. Ask him if he wanted to train with you.”

“Wait, you are throwing those problems into my hands now? What happened to not calling me?”

“You asked for it. I gave it.”

“Huh, shouldn’t have called… Oh well. Fine, I’ll see. Wait a minute. You’re starting that project! You are actually going to go through with that project!”

Dick was more surprised than angry, it was a good sign. They had discussed the possibility, but that was all, possibility.

“So you really are going to have that joint venture with Luthor…” Dick sounded sad. When Bruce first brought it up, he thought Bruce finally went mad. Luthor sold weapons. And… He knew that Bruce would only do this if they were out of options. Bruce was taking this more seriously than he thought. Just like he even tolerated Jason’s action. He thought it was out of the love for Jason. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

He understood why Alfred was more concerned recently. It sounded like, Bruce had gone… darker.

“It was necessary.” Bruce was back to the monotone. 

One may against the world? Even to add a few in numbers, it was essentially still him against the world.

Dick wanted to say something, try to talk him out of it. But, he knew it was impossible. Unless something huge happened, he would never be able to change Bruce’s mind. He wondered if Alfred had this feeling when Bruce first started to be Batman. The torn emotion that either they had to go with Bruce on this insane journey, or leave Bruce to take that insane journey all alone. All chose the latter. It wasn’t much of a choice.

They all loved Bruce.

Even if he’s crazy.

Then again, who’s to say they weren’t crazy anyway? They followed him willingly didn’t they? And honestly… They did think he was right, at least the intention part.

Dick had a bitter smile on his face, “Fine, I’ll look into it. Lucky for you, I’m currently not that busy. Well, normal busy. Bruce, take care. I don’t want to come back just to find you with a beard again.”

It was an inside joke, about him in the cave for a whole month to battle addiction of Venom. He didn’t shave, so he had beard.

He finally relaxed again, “you too, Dick. Take care.”

They hung up. Bruce didn’t know if he was making the right decision or not. But he knew he needed to do that. He needed to know that he still made some kind of difference. It was almost fifteen years since he started, yet… Gotham was still a mess. The world was a mess for that matter. He was growing a bit tired. Day after day, there were always crimes. Most of the time he could convince himself that it was better. But occasionally… he wasn’t sure…

Selfish… He knew. He closed his sorrow filled blue eyes, stopping anyone from seeing his weakness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah... Batman was darker than usual, don't worry, give him time, he'll triumph, as he always did.  
> Sorry, I know it's a boring chapter... Bear with me, I like analysis.


	4. Batman and Robins

“You really shouldn’t do that if you don’t want to get yourself injured.”

The green figure hesitated, looked up only to see a black coloured costume man with blue symbol on the chest. Oliver didn’t hear this mysterious figure coming in. Although, from the way he dressed, he was sure that this guy had something to do with the Batman, from the age, he’d say he was Nightwing.

While he was distracted for one second, the opponent he was fighting saw a chance and took it. Unfortunately, both Arrow and Nightwing wouldn’t allow that to happen. Nightwing restrained the guy’s one arm and Arrow apprehended the other.

Nightwing smiled and nodded, “we can definitely make a good team.”

Arrow grunted, he seriously questioned the mental state of the so called Bat-Family, “I work alone. Stay out of my city. I thought you were in Bludhaven.”

“I was, and then I heard your incident with Slade Wilson and League of Assassins, and Waller. Interesting people you’ve been dealing with don’t you think?”

Handing the man’s arm back to Arrow, Nightwing smirked, which reminded Arrow somewhat of that little kid Batman brought with. The new Robin.

“Now, I don’t want to fight with you, nor am I interested in giving you compliments about the new non-killing rule you’ve been trying to follow. But as far as I can tell, you’ve been trained to kill. How to not kill and win is more difficult for you. So, I’ve come to offer you some… advice.”

Arrow stared at Nightwing, trying to make a glare. Though it had no effect on Nightwing, since he had lived with Bat-Glare, Arrow wasn’t even close to that type of horror.

“Oh, come on, you think you can scare me away? Seriously? You have been doing your researches on me and the Bat right? And you do realize the Bat knows a lot, I mean, A LOT, about scaring people, right?”

Nightwing chuckled, leaned against a lamp. “You know, if I were you, I’d take this. Here, take this. Whenever you want to accept my offer, you can. I bet the Bat didn’t give you anything. He’s like that. Don’t feel left out.”

“I’m not…” Arrow practically grinded his teeth when he spit that sentence out. It made Nightwing even cheerier, “well. I think it’s best if we leave it like this today. Now, don’t be too stubborn before anyone else gets hurt. The Bat might be a maniac sometimes, he’s also always right.”

Nightwing’s face turned more serious, “You do need training.”

“I don’t need training from you bats. I am fine, I’ve been trained for the last five years.”

“Really? From what I hear, there were lots of casualties. Your instinct is to kill, but you refrained from doing so, which is a good thing by the way, but because you need to hold back, the enemy can traumatize lots of others before you can make them give up. As for your five years of training.” NIghtwing’s smile turned into mischievous grin, “I’ve been trained since eleven, let me think, how many years since then? Well, huh, a lot more than five years. Before you could say anything, the Bat have been training since he was eight. Listen to him, he can be a big help. Anyway, see you around. Trust me on that one.”

With a big smile, Nightwing disappeared into the nights, leaving Arrow holding on to the bat themed phone/communicator. He tied up the scum he just caught, delivered it to the police force, and went back to the hide out, his sister’s pub.

In there, Felicity and Diggle were both doing something, when he came in, they immediately started staring at him.

Arrow sighed, “What?”

Diggle and Felicity both looked at each other, then Diggle spoke up, “we think you should take the offer.”

“You must be kidding me! They are all costumed freaks…” As the stare intensified, he knew what was wrong, and sighed again, “so am I…”

Felicity’s voice joined in on the conversation, “I did a little more digging, and turns out, the Bat is actually doing great work. He first appeared about fifteen years ago, the date was kind of fuzzy since no one was really looking at a giant bat. No newspaper printed his pictures, just rumours. I realized that why we didn’t hear anything before. They definitely have someone good with computers. While I was digging their information, their computer guy, or girl, maybe she was a girl since she sounded like one.”

“Focus, Felicity.”

“Oh, yeah, yeah. The girl said hi to me, and said that since they were planning to incorporate us into their teams, their information would be open for me as long as I don’t dig too much into their identities. And she weren’t kidding about her ability, she hacked into my computer as if my computer was some kind of amateur website designer! My computer! Do you know what means?”

“That you got busted?”

“Hey, Diggle!”

Diggle half chuckled half coughed, “Okay, I’m just kidding. Go on.”

Felicity blushed a little, “Fine, I got busted. But that also means we, well, at least I need more training. What if someone as good as her hacked into our computer? And what if that person is evil…”

Felicity stopped, looking like she had the world on her shoulder. Diggle gave her a pat on the shoulder, “Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out.”

“Oh, right, which reminds me, Batman is probably Bruce Wayne.”

“What?!”

Both Diggle, and Oliver was stunned. Felicity innocently stepped back a little, surprised at their reaction. On the other line, Oracle laughed frantically, she immediately called Bruce and told him that his identity was out. He growled a little, and told Barbara to keep even more elaborate tabs on them. Now, it’s not just training the Arrow, he needed to make sure no one can get that information out of Arrow and his teams’ mouth.

“How did you know? I thought that person told you to not look into their identity?” Diggle was the ice breaker, as always.

Felicity replied, “I didn’t. Well, a little. I was curious. So first, Batman was a billionaire, and that was simple enough to figure out since Arrow here is also a billionaire. Who could afford all those gadgets anyway? So I checked Gotham’s billionaires. Since people dressed like a bat clearly have problems, I ruled out people who had luxurious good life. But then again, I thought, billionaires always seemed to have problems, so technically I couldn’t rule out anyone. So at that point, I kind of gave up a little. Until I heard Nightwing said he started training when he was eleven and Batman started training at eight. So, the question became, who had problems at eight and took someone in when the kid was eleven. There was only one person who fit the description. Bruce Wayne.”

Felicity took a deep breath, she almost didn’t change her breath when she recounted the events leading up to the discovery.

“What happened to him at eight?”

Oliver was the one asked that question, he was both curious and anxious. Like a kid that tabbed into a big secret.

“His parents were murdered, and he saw it. It was a mug gone wrong.”

Felicity lowered her head, sad for that kid who had to endure those horrible images. She thought she never knew her dad was bad, but… what if you had a perfect life, and that life was taken from you? It was the desperation afterwards that made her sad.

Oliver and Diggle was silent as well. A man dressed like a bat, problems sure… but this was unexpected.

“And the eleven year old kid… He was Richard John Grayson. A circus boy. And… His family was also murdered in front of his eyes. Allegedly, the criminal Tony Zucco was threatening the circus, and the circus didn’t comply, the kid’s family was just to show he was the boss. The ropes were sabotaged, the Graysons fell, with the only exception who were at the time preparing for his jump. Tony Zucco was caught soon after the Grayson family's tragedy. Since the kid got nowhere else to go, Bruce Wayne adopted him.”

That was disturbing… Both’s parents were killed in front of their eyes. Even Oracle on the other side was silent. She still remember how Dick’s family’s death haunted him.

“So, anyway, the second kid was adopted after Richard turned eighteen and left Gotham. The name was Jason Peter Todd. He was in juvenile detention centre, no one knew how Bruce Wayne found him, only that he took the boy home, adopted him. And… After two years of adoption, he was dead. Allegedly, skiing accidents.”

They all knew it weren’t accidents. As the atmosphere tensed up Felicity sighed even more, “Then there was the third one, Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne.”

“How many did he took in?”

“Wait, wasn’t Drake also a big family name?”

Diggle and Oliver both said something at the same time. Oliver had more knowledge of the family names, so he remembered the name “Drake”.

“Hold on, I’m getting to there. And yes, Drake, as in the big family name Drake. But unfortunately, Drake’s mom was murdered, so was the dad, just different incidents. Bruce Wayne took Timothy Drake in as a family friend.”

It was like a curse. The Bat-Family curse. Nothing good ever happened to them.

“The last one was Damian Wayne. The kid with Batman the other day. His information was a little harder to find, but from what Nyssa was saying, apparently Damian Wayne was the son of Batman and Talia al Ghul. He’s probably the only one that wasn’t orphaned… But, he probably got the most problems. He only appeared to be with Bruce Wayne when he was ten. Before that… You can imagine where he was.”

League of Assassins…

They looked at each other as the history of Bat-Family revealed upon them. It was heavy, and they didn’t really know if they could handle all those tragedies.

As soon as they were silent, a screen popped up, alerting the team.

It was a black screen, Felicity squeaked and confirmed that this was the one hacked into her computer.

On that screen, it said: _Batman was not very happy, try not to be too surprised when you see him. BTW, keep it a secret. Or else, there are plenty of us to make sure you never see the light of the day. There are more of us than just Batman and Robins._

It was clear to them that they were monitored, intensively. Oliver angrily punched the table while Felicity was more inquisitive than angry, she typed in the screen: _How could you possibly pass the firewall?_

The words became more teasing than serious: _You do realize you were using Wayne technology on this computer?_

Felicity remembered when she bought the computer, there were Wayne logo on it. And apparently, Batman keeps track of his technologies, big surprise. Felicity almost wanted to put her head under sand, she thought, great, she totally forgot about Wayne technology.

The box showed another sentence: _Don’t worry, when he said he wanted to train you, he was serious. So, wait to be trained. Felicity, you have potential, I think you and I could chat after he visits you. Gotta go, duty calls._

That was the last of the black box. 

Three of them looked at each other and sighed for the hundredth times, great, another visit from the Bat…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, Okay, I have to admit, I probably shouldn't dwell too much on the back story of the bat and his family. But I couldn't help it.... It has became a habit to write a lot about the bat.... Well, next chapter would be clash of Batman and Arrow again. And will he take the deal? Let's find out~


	5. Damian's Outbursts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist~ Daddy Bat teaching little birdie a lesson, sort of...

When the mysterious IT girl from the Bat-Family said Batman would visit, none of them expected he’d show up as Bruce Wayne. More importantly… He now owns 45% share that Isabel Rochev owned…

As Bruce Wayne smiled and gently shook Oliver’s hand, he spoke, “I guess we are now partners in the business world, Mr. Queen.”

The innocent, playboy billionaire routine was getting tiring. Oliver tried very hard to not smash his face. Bruce raised an eyebrow as he sat on the board members chair and Lucius did his talking.

“Ah, Mr. Queen. I was wondering when Wayne Enterprises would have a partnership with Queen Consolidated.”

The wise old man winked. Oliver now knew for sure Lucius Fox knew everything about the Batman and the Arrow as well. He mentally grunted, trying to find words, “Welcome… Welcome to Starling Mr. Fox and Mr. Wayne. I’m sure our company would be great partners, meanwhile, maybe I can show Mr. Wayne around the city later?”

Bruce still had his goofy smile, “Sure thing Oliver, call me Bruce. We are going to have lots of fun. Do you know that the famous actress Samantha Groves were in town? I bet we can go to her apartment tonight, I had a thing with her before and kept a good relationship.”

He emphasized on the words “good relationship”, as he surely knew every single relationship with Oliver ended terribly, disastrous even.

“Great, but I was thinking about just showing you my hometown, and then we can have dinner to discuss future opportunities.”

Oliver had to control himself. He had to. He didn’t like Batman nor Bruce Wayne, but… a secret is a secret. Although he had to keep secrets from his family, Bruce here... didn’t have to.

“Sure thing. Let’s get through this meeting first. I’m sure Lucius planned a wonderful presentation.” It was a joke… Since halfway through the presentation, Bruce was already sleeping. Kind enough to not make any sounds. All the board members knew Bruce Wayne’s reputation. He rarely attended any meetings. Recent years were a bit better. They assumed it was Lucius’ efforts. What they didn’t know was, Bruce Wayne knew everything about his company. EVERYTHING.

Oliver and Lucius had to be quick, both eager to start the “partnership” and prevent Bruce to humiliate his company further. The meeting ended thirty minutes early with a handshake between Lucius and Oliver and a promise that they would discuss details in the near future.

Bruce opened his eyes lazily, the pure blue was a stunning view. Very beautiful. Oliver put on that smile and helped Bruce up, “how about we grab a bite together?”

Bruce nodded reluctantly, and with a snobby voice, “Oh, and don’t forget my child. Ah, kids… I never knew I’d have one you know. Responsibility is much overrated.” 

Even if Oliver knew it was a play, Bruce was quite convincing at it. No wonder people who didn’t know about Batman’s gadgets or who Arrow was couldn’t figure out Batman’s identity.

“Damian, I presume?”

“Yeah, you’ll have to excuse him, he’s… different… one of a kind in fact.”

Both proud and concerned look took up Bruce’s face. If anything, Oliver could only imagine what it feels like to have a kid. Not that he actually wanted one.

As they walked down, Oliver told Bruce that they could use Diggle as driver and go from there. Bruce was distracted when he walked outside the buildings, as soon as he spotted Damian eating ice cream, he’s face lit up with warmth. Something Oliver thought he’d never see on Batman’s face. Bruce gave Damian a big smile, Damian still had that arrogant face, but with ice cream on his hand and his licking, it only made him adorable.

Bruce waived at Damian to let Damian come closer, “Here’s Mr. Queen. Behave.”

Damian rolled his eyes unwillingly nodded, “Mr. Queen.”

Oliver couldn’t help but put his hands onto Damian’s hair, which had vigorous response, “Put your hands down or I’ll cut them for you weakling.”

The threatening voice was… somewhat… hilarious. 

But Bruce did pick up Oliver’s hand, and shook his head. They got onto Diggle’s car with Damian throwing his ice cream onto the side walk. Oliver frowned, so did Bruce. Bruce sighed, “Damian, garbage goes to garbage bin, not ground.”

Damian stared at his father, then tightened his lips. “Fine.”

Oliver almost wanted to say something, but then he saw Bruce picked it up to throw it into garbage bin. The kid’s expression was more serious. When his father came back, his heads lowered, like he was listening orders, or was it like what normal kids do when they were in trouble.

“It won’t happen again, father.”

Bruce nodded in recognition, didn’t reply though. Oliver could clearly feel there was some weird exchanges between them. He ignored it.

“Now, Mr. Queen. We have business to talk. Take me to your little hideout.”

With that sentence, the atmosphere changed drastically. Damian was no longer bending his head, instead, he had eyes like hawk, or maybe bat would be more appropriate, locked onto Oliver. Oliver’s body tensed up as well, he was making a defensive move. The size of the car was limiting but that didn’t stop any one of them. Until Diggle and Bruce both said “Enough”.

Damian relaxed down, as did Oliver.

Bruce was using his bat voice now, “I don’t want to waste any time. So first, I’m going to do a sweep of your hideout, to make sure no one can hear us talking, if we talk. Then, all of you are going to follow me to my hideout in Starling City. And you WILL train with me. The basics are simple, you’ve mastered most. Just control. The key is in control of your body. With that said, I need to test your limits. And, tell your fiend Roy Harper to show up as well. He has more potential than you do.”

The comment earned Oliver a sniff from Damian. Bruce stared at Damian and Damian restrained himself from making any more faces.

Diggle in the driver seat was raising his eyebrow, “So, you are the famous Bruce Wayne, and the…”

Damian’s dagger was beside his neck before he could say anything or anyone else could do anything. The cold metal touch made Diggle’s driving skill went totally blank for a moment, a chill from spine went to his heart. The car stopped in the middle of the road. Luckily it was also a red light anyway. Diggle knew League of Assassins were good, but never thought a child could be this good.

Bruce sighed, and pushed Damian’s hand away from Diggle’s neck, with a warning tone he called his son’s name, “Damian.”

“But father, you said that we shouldn’t speak our nightly job in public.” Damian didn’t care about others, he made that clear the first day he joined Wayne Manor, stabbed Tim nearly to death. Although they made amends, if not killing each other meant amends, it still didn’t mean that Damian would stopped hurting others. He should probably be glad that Damian cared about him enough to follow his no-killing rule, since he told Damian if he ever cross that line again, he would end his relationship with Damian. Damian stopped killing. He still enjoyed maiming people… But… Baby steps…

“I’m sure Queen’s car is safe enough. I checked.” Bruce’s hands held onto Damian’s, made Damian blush a tinge, only Bruce noticed. He knew Damian had problems, but it is reactions like this made him couldn’t give up on Damian. 

Not that he would give up on anyone. 

He patted Damian’s shoulder, and was acknowledging his effort in trying to prevent secrets leaking out. 

“Fine.” Damian softened with a grunt, and pulled his dagger back to wherever it was stored. He was too quick even for Oliver to see clearly, he did deduce where though. Damian noticed that Oliver tried to follow his actions, with an arrogant smirk, Damian opened his mouth again, “You wish you could see, weakling. My father could’ve caught my hands.”

“Okay, clearly, you need to tone down on the assassins’ thing. Why the hell do you have a knife?” Diggle started up the car again when the light turned to green, but still shaken up. He was faced with more dangerous situation, but none of them involved a ten year old kid with a dagger.

“I don’t answer to servants.” Damian’s arms crossed in front of his chest, head facing the other way. Bruce formed an apologetic smile, “He didn’t mean it, I’m sure you’re a valuable friend of Oliver Queen. It was his habit to keep something sharp around him.”

“It’s alright, as long as he learns some manners.” Diggle shook his head, trying to also shake the chill away.

“He’s come a long way.” Bruce was protective of his son. And he wasn’t lying.

“Tt, Pennyworth is more valuable than he is. Can he make food like Pennyworth?” Damian refuted, he was not happy that his father apologized to a servant for him.

“Only Pastas. At least that’s what I’m good at.” Diggle gracefully overlooked those episodes. He remembered how Nyssa was, and how Sara was. He should’ve known better.

Damian felt that he was in an argument along, so he dropped the topic. The rest of the trip was silent. Finally, they all arrived in the hideout in one piece. In the hideout, was Felicity.


	6. Starling City's Cave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I kind of kept my promise... Cough cough, enjoy~

Once they stepped inside, there was an awkward silence, they all looked at each other for a moment and Bruce was not usually the one who broke ice.

The job went to Diggle, “So… What did you say you wanted to do?”

Bruce’s face turned to Damian, and nodded as Damian half vanished into thin air. Felicity couldn’t help but wowed at the sight. Everyone turned their attention to her, and she instantly grew red. She tried to explain, but everything she said turned into babble.

Bruce was never the comforting type, so he just looked away and started sweeping the parameter.

Damian found nothing, Bruce found nothing either. They finally confirmed that this place was secure, at least the inside of it…

As Damian stood beside Bruce, Bruce finally spoke since he entered, “Good job. There were no bugs around. Keep up.”

Felicity replied, unsure if he meant it or not, “Em… Thanks?”

Bruce gave an encouraging smile, it was a rare sight even for Damian. But Damian knew it was only because Felicity was a civilian, she would fall under the category that Bruce needed to protect, and therefore he was considerably nicer to her than any other person in the Arrow team, so far.

It was fair to say, Oliver and Diggle were very surprised at Bruce’s smile. Oliver had a frown on his face, and was slowly moving towards Felicity with a protective posture. Felicity didn’t notice, but she did want to talk to Bruce more.

“Wow, you are in a good mood aren’t you? I thought you would be more… Um… Intimidating?” 

“Tt” was Damian’s reply, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest again, obviously not very happy about that comment. _Father IS more intimidating!_

Bruce toned down on the smile and started “intimidating” them.

“John Diggle, born in 1978, has an ex-wife now girlfriend who used to work with Amanda Waller… Oliver Queen, codename Arrow, came back after five years of disappearance… Now, since I know all your little secrets, it’s best that you keep mine. Or else…”

20 minutes has passed since Bruce started to recite all the information of John Diggle and Oliver Queen. They were certainly overwhelmed with how much Bruce actually knew, and the last “or else” sounded really… Bat-like. It made all of them feel the sense of danger. It was more than the blood thirsty/killing kind of danger, but more like if-you-don’t-listen-I’ll-make-your-life-a-living-hell kind of danger. 

Although, there was a member that felt less threatened, but more offended, “Hey, why didn’t you say all of my information? At least acknowledge that I’m part of the team! I mean, I am the smartest one in here, I think… At least the computer part. I mean, when I came in here, their computer system’s way outdated and so easy to hack… I updated it with much needed security. Although I guess it’s still not very good, since your computer girl did hack it pretty easily… Wait, she’s a girl right?”

Damian was impatient, at the same time, amused at how the girl could have all those thoughts connected into one big blab. Seriously… She really had a lot going on with that blab of things she just said.

Bruce couldn’t help but relaxed a little from intimidating the rest of team Arrow.

“Oracle said you were trustworthy. And I saw your actions against Slade. Even though it was not your responsibility, you took a big risk. I will give you the benefit of doubt until you’ve proven me otherwise.”

The sincerity made Felicity blush. She muttered something but managed not to slip out. Maybe it was the different treatment, or maybe it was the compliment, Felicity suddenly realized how handsome this Bruce Wayne looked. She always knew billionaires tend to look better, but a scarred billionaire with massive muscle looked even nicer. She felt a little tingling sensation, but soon suppressed it. It was neither the right time, nor the right person.

Bruce Wayne may be a great superhero, he would be a terrible husband or lover in general. _Just look at how Arrow goes…_

Felicity’s side trail did not manifest into words, which to her was a good thing. Though the complete silence of the room said otherwise.

She realized how difficult it was for the hero types to trust anyone and not to mention talking… She mentally rolled her eyes at that thought.

Bruce frowned at the silence. He then invited Diggle and Oliver to go to his place with their “costumes”. He left out Felicity on purpose. Bruce had made Oracle responsible for Felicity’s training, therefore the first lesson would be taught over computer, and she was already waiting for Felicity to get online. Second… He didn’t want Felicity to get too involved.

He saw Felicity as a trustworthy ally, but never partners that could fight alongside with them. More like Lucius’s roll. He wanted to keep her safe. She didn’t know anything about martial fighting, and he would like to think she never would need to know how to fight.

Felicity could feel that Bruce was hiding something, but she had the courtesy to not poke too deep. Instead, she thought talking to this “Oracle” would be a better way to get to know their team.

Bruce was driving the car, Damian pouted since he was trying to drive the car again… Oliver and Diggle were both at the back seats, almost anxious to see what “Starling City version of Batcave” looked like. They didn’t know much, in fact, nothing about Batman’s secret hideouts. It was a well kept secrets, just as lots of Batman’s stories. They were determined to find all those out, though, since, you know, Batman apparently knew everything about them, it was only fair that they knew everything about him.

As Gotham’s Batcave, it was underground. Above was the property of Larmy Corporation’s CEO’s private house, Robert Larmy, a pseudo name of Bruce Wayne. As for the company, it was a “shell” that actually ran business with Wayne Tech. The people there just didn’t know they belonged to Wayne Tech as well. 

The cave had only two differences, it was smaller and more modernized than Gotham one. Though, it was certainly bigger than what Oliver had. 

There were Bat-suits. Yes, suits. Multiple suits that looked like an array of high tech convention. Bruce had three different sets of suits, each had its unique functions.

The first one was light and flexible. Downside was not enough to stop bullets or knives or basically anything sharp. The only thing it could probably help was blunt impact since it was made of Kevlar after all. The second one was more like an armour. Plates of metal carefully articulated together, inside was a layer of Kevlar as well. This one was the heavy one, mobility was an issue, but it could stop knives and bullets in close range. The last one was the most balanced one, and the one he wore to observe Arrow-in-action. Metal plates seemed thinner and lighter, no reflection of light at all, in some parts, the Kevlar material was exposed to have better mobility. It was Bruce’s favorite one.

Besides Bat-suits. Therewere also Robin’s. For Robin, there were only one, only critical organs had a thickening of Kevlar with mixture of carbon fiber. It looked like Bat-suits costs more, but in fact, Robin’s suit costs about the first two Bat-suits added together. Bruce always made sure his Robins had the best equipment possible. For him, he could settle for less only because he knew he could take it.

There was also a big training facility, with all kinds of equipment that could potentially be used. When he had to hide all those shipments for Batman, he tended to have extra. 

Not only there was training equipment, the one other thing that caught their eyes was the awesome Batmobile. Especially when their car was parked beside it. As pretty much all men loved cars, Diggle and Oliver were not the exceptions. Oliver and Diggle stood before it, all wanted to touch it. But Bruce had the Bat-Glare to remind them that they were not the owner of that great car. He did agree to give them a schematics later, but for now, they needed to focus on training.

Bruce quickly changed into his favourite Bat-suit, and Damian changed into his. They met up beside the training area, medic bay, where he asked Arrow to be scanned by his specially designed CT/MR fusion image in a specially insulated room. It was Wayne Tech’s newest invention, only on trial phase, not into mass production yet. The MR actually had other properties as well. It could run functional MRI with the whole body. Looking at the person’s physiology directly as well as the kinesiology associated with it. 

In other words, it was to check Oliver’s limits.

Oliver was less than willing to comply, but after Diggle did his scan, Oliver finally agreed to get onto the big donut shaped thing that probably made everyone claustrophobic.

The blood flow of Oliver’s body showed promising results. Bruce now knew what level of power he’s dealing with. Diggle had less power than Oliver, unfortunately, so were his potentials. Bruce thought Diggle would be great with lower level criminals, street crimes, and let Oliver to take out the big hits. Diggle’s training in the military also made him the perfect recon guy. He would listen to orders, and knew when contact others became necessary.

There was one more person missing in this whole picture of Starling City, Roy Harper. Bruce really wanted to look at reports of Roy since he had been injected with Mirakuru and the cure. He wanted to make sure everything was actually fine. There were too many times that he thought he cured something and it turned to bite him.

He decided to talk to Roy after he’s done with Oliver and Diggle first, which was about to. His goal today was to collect data, and he did. The foremost important data he had collected so far was they would keep his secrets. Then, it was their body potentials. He had to develop a plan accordingly. Meanwhile, the streets of Starling City would keep them busy.

Bruce let those two out with their car, he told them he would contact them through the device Nightwing left them, as soon as he finished their training plans. They left, with skepticism. Though, when they returned to the Arrow hideout, they found an excited Felicity.


	7. The Red Hood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm back, sort of. The Ra's Al Ghul scene gave me more inspirations! So... Yeah. Thanks for waiting.

Unfortunate for Roy, when Bruce wanted to meet with him in person, there was a distraction back in Gotham. Arkham Asylum’s inmates broke out, again. He couldn’t stress the importance of the word “again”.

The escapees were all the top priorities. Stephanie was told specifically, if there were a break out, she would only contain those with secondary priorities and leave the top ones for the others in the family since her skill sets were no match for all top priorities to attack at once.

She followed instructions.

There was a time when she didn’t, and the results were catastrophic for her and those who loved her. Unfortunately, top priorities also involved the Joker which always made situation worse. Others included Harley Quinn, the Riddler, the Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Two Face, and Clayface. 

All meant trouble.

As Bruce and his team were trying to tract all of the escaped villains down, Oliver received some interesting news as well. There was a new Count Vertigo in town, and they were going to ship a batch of Vertigo to Gotham. 

It was… interesting to say the least… when team Arrow found another masked vigilante in Gotham. They are both surprised that Batman allow another vigilante in town and at the same time not too surprised that there are another vigilante in town. Seriously. They were actually more astonished at the way the guy moves.

Red helmet covered his face completely, they weren’t even sure if they would get claustrophobic if they were put in that helmet. Then there was the gun and a string of arsenals in the person’s possession. They were sure that Batman never used guns, nor did he kill.

This one is much more violent.

It reminded them of Oliver when he first started. Determined on killing those who wronged the city. And yet, even with his violence, he avoided killing his victims. Yes, the mobsters looked like the victims here. All severely injured by this person.

Felicity soon gave them the update on who this vigilante is. 

“You think it was hard to find information on Batman? Try this Red Hood. I mean, on the surface, it’s easy. He goes by the name of Red Hood, obviously. He was never apprehended, so no ID at all. He was never seen without his helmet or hood… I guess… If that’s what the name meant, anyway, no facial recognition as well.”

As Felicity was explaining Red Hood, Oliver and Roy watched the Red Hood effectively took more people out. Those who were moaning on the ground most likely had cracked ribs, broken wrists and legs. Basically, a full body cast for six months. Weirdly enough though, the bullet he used to shoot, seemed to be rubber of some kind.

He rarely used his guns, even though he was obviously armed with it. More often or not, he used the custom shaped knife to stab people.

_He enjoyed it._

From Red Hood’s chuckle, Oliver analyzed.

Felicity continued on, “He only started few years back. When he first started, he was kind of like you though. Killing dozens of mobsters and drug dealers. Even tried to blow up THE criminal lord named Black Mask, establishing himself as the new criminal lord. Now, personally, I think they should be friends, because, you know, they both have metal mask fetishes.”

Felicity’s joke didn’t go too well. Not just because it’s cold. Another big reason was… Well, the Red Hood saw them. Somehow…

The Red Hood had finished cleaning up his enemies and pretty much spotted them the second he finished cleaning up, “wow, didn’t think I have followers. You know, just because you guys are almost as good as I was, I’ll give you a chance to explain yourself.”

Oliver of course didn’t budge, he knew his presence was spotted, but it didn’t seem like his location was exposed. Unfortunately for him, he was wrong. Very wrong.

Returning his silence, was the Red Hood’s gun, pointed right at his position. And the shot fired right beside him. Almost hit Roy if it weren’t for Roy’s quick response. 

When the Red Hood saw Roy, his voice immediately lightened, he even chuckled a bit, “Kid, I like your style. Thank God it wasn’t god awful black.”

When he saw Oliver’s attire, he went into a laughing spree, “Oh my god, you know who I should introduce you to, the big bad bat. He’d love your suit. Brings so much colour into this city. I really hope you prepared yourself for the humiliation you’ll get when you meet them. Seriously, Green? Black and yellow is bad enough, now green?! Hahahaha.”

Oliver felt insulted, but at the same time, he confirmed that this person knew Batman. Maybe even worked with him. Though, it was weird to think Batman can live peacefully with this… violent guy in his city. Just like he wouldn’t allow Huntress in his city, he expected the Batman to not like killers like the Red Hood.

“My suit colour is none of your business. Red Hood.”

Oliver specified the last two words, wanted to scare him, let him know that he knew who the Red Hood is. However, the Red Hook almost looked at him as if he said something stupid.

“Are you trying to scare me? ME? THE RED HOOD?”

Then, the Red Hood engaged in fighting, just because he was getting a little irritated, “It’s such a stupid idea, you have no idea how wrong that is.”

In the midst of fighting, Oliver sensed a hint of… Sadness. It seemed like he had a tragic past, just like the whole Bat-family. It wasn’t long before he suspected his real identity: if he had anything to do with the Bat-Family.

_He certainly mentioned batman._

But… Again, how did Red Hood ever get along with them?

While they were fighting, Roy of course joined in, it didn’t make much of a difference. Red Hood was very good. His skills somehow reminded him of League of Assassins, yet, there was differences too strong to ignore. It seemed as if he was trained by two different methods.

And the worse part was, Red Hood was good at both. It was easy for him to change from one style to another. The other style had a mixture of styles. It was even harder for Oliver to distinguish which one is which. Oliver was trained by at most five different people/style, this one seemed to have a lot more teachers.

But… How?

While he was carefully observing the Red Hood, and trying not to get beaten, the Red Hood on the other hand seemed to have someone contacting him.

“Get out of my com. I’m in the middle of something.”

The other side seemed to have said something important. The Red Hood’s speed to attack increased, as if he was in a hurry. 

“I thought I wasn’t invited in the family dinner anymore, why should I help? Why can’t he take care of it himself with you people?”

The other side seemed to have said something funny, he chuckled, bitterly. It angered him even further. He went quiet for a few moments and finally said, “Fine, I’ll help. Make no mistake, I am helping not because the fucking Bat needs me, I’m helping because the fucking Black Mask is dealing drugs to children. And to hell with your family portrait, I don’t need it.”

As soon as he finished talking, his stopped attacking. Sort of. He apprehended Oliver. Not that Oliver put up a huge fight. Now, Oliver is convinced that he’s working with Batman, he wanted to know if there were anything he could learn from this Red Hood. 

Roy was aiming at the Red Hood. But it didn’t seem to bother Red Hood one bit. He just lowered his voice, “I let you go only because I know you are the hero of Starling City. That does not mean I’m allowing you people to barge in here, in MY CITY.” After a murmur of some kind, he sighed, “Our City. Don’t ever come back, you won’t be able to take it. Get out while still can.”

After the last word, Red Hood disappeared into the wind. Just like when he popped out.

Although… Oliver’s mouth smiled just a little, enough to let Roy know that Oliver did something.

“Let’s go. We need to see what happened to this city.”

Roy frowned, “How do you know?”

Oliver looked at Roy, finally explained, “He mentioned the bat. And when he mentioned ‘the big bad bat’, it was more joking than hatred. Then there was the conversation with whomever on the phone. It sounded like someone hacked his headphone. Batman had Oracle. And he mentioned ‘family’, there is only one family I know in Gotham worth mentioning, the Bat-Family. He was obviously playing with us, didn’t want to hurt us, yet in the end he left with a warning. Meaning the family needed help. Now, how big of a trouble do you think it would be for Batman to call for help from a man like Red Hood?”

Roy raised his eyebrow, “I was just asking how you know where to find him, but that works, too.”

“I planted a tracker on him.”

“Cool.”

Two figures also disappear, only a bunch of half maimed mobsters laid on the ground, waiting for the pick up from the police.


End file.
